Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Wedding Wednesday: Mothers

Working at Mary Kay's Bridal these past few months I have had the chance to work with A LOT of Mother's-of-the Bride and Mother's-of-the-Groom, and the whole "Mother's Dress" concept just baffles me.

Some mothers will come in and say...

"my daughter told me I had to wear a dress that is this color and has this but not this and it has to be this."

or, "I don't really care what the dress looks like, no one will be looking at me."

or, "I need something long with a jacket, I need to be covered up."

And then there's the mom's who say, "I don't want to look like a grandma." (no offense to you stylish grandmas, like mine!)

Let's face it, a lot of mother's dresses made for the occasion are hideous. Believe me, I see them up close and personal several times a week. When I google'd "mother of the bride dresses" I was appalled at what the search turned up:

YUCK!

I found an article from the New York Times printed in 2005 which said, "Increasingly, affluent urban mothers of brides are turning away from the so-called M.O.B. dresses of old - the pastel chiffon gowns and long-sleeve jacket ensembles that practically screamed 'matronly.' Today, the dresses worn by many mothers of brides, like the women themselves, are more stylish, youthful and even daring. 'There are no more limits,' said Monique Lhuillier, a Los Angeles-based designer known for her sleek bridal and ready-to-wear gowns. "Women will wear whatever makes them feel pretty." And I totally agree, there is no reason why a mom can't look amazing on her son or daughter's wedding day, in fact they should look amazing! After the bride and groom, the parents are the most important people at the wedding and they should look the part.

Now, a lot of women are self conscience about their bodies and prefer to be covered up, and if that's the case by all means wear sleeves or a jacket...but you can be covered and modest and still look sexy. I mean, we're constantly praising celebrities (who are slightly older) for their amazing looks and fashion and I think all of these red carpet looks would make amazing Mother of Bride (or Groom) dresses!

So, the moral of this story for all you brides-to-be....encourage and allow your mom and future mother-in-law to look amazing! It's a big day for them too and they should look and feel gorgeous! Whether she's a size 4 or a size 24 help those mamas to do away with these awful, matronly and unflattering frump dresses! Let's be responsible for starting a Hot Mama trend for those MOBs and MOGs!!!

Great post!! I would love for my mom to look and feel great on my wedding day..she's still got it goin on so she should be able to flaunt it a little bit. I laughed about what came up when you googled mother of the bride dresses!! LOL!

I went shopping with my mom for her MOB dress and encouraged her to get whatever she wanted. She ended up with a form flattering, silky blue dress that looked amazing with her tan skin. She was hesitant that it was "too much", but I thought she looked gorgeous and I of course wanted my mom to look and feel beautiful even though it was "my day". It's a big day for a mom, why shouldn't they look great too!!

My mom and I both totally agree with you ;) We both haaaate the "traditional" MOB dresses out there right now.. but we've actually found some good options for her in the bridesmaid section of many stores!!

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